Political and Judicial Activity from 1844 to 1877

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts from the political and judicial events in the United States between 1844 and 1877, focusing on the issues of slavery, expansion, and the Civil War.

Democrat

Political party that focused on expansionism, private ownership of land, and minimal government involvement.

Whig Party

Political party that emphasized internal improvements such as bridges, harbors, and canals.

Polk Presidency

James Polk's term marked by significant territorial expansion including the Texas and Oregon territories.

Mexican-American War

Conflict initiated by U.S. claims on Mexico leading to territorial acquisitions but raising debates on slavery.

Wilmot Proviso

Proposal to prevent slavery in territories acquired from Mexico, reflecting sectional tensions.

Compromise of 1850

Legislation aimed at easing tensions over slavery by allowing territories to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854 act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, further inflaming conflicts over slavery.

Bleeding Kansas

Violent confrontations between proslavery and antislavery factions in Kansas during the 1850s.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

Supreme Court case that ruled slaves were property and Congress could not regulate slavery in territories.

Emancipation Proclamation

Result of the Civil War and Lincoln's declaration to free slaves in states in rebellion starting January 1, 1863.

Reconstruction

Period following the Civil War focused on re-integrating Southern states and addressing the status of freed slaves.

Sharecropping

Agricultural system where freed blacks and poor whites would farm land in exchange for a share of the crops.

Radical Republicans

Political faction that advocated for immediate emancipation and civil rights for freed slaves during Reconstruction.

Thirteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment that abolished slavery in the United States.

Gadsden Purchase

1853 acquisition of land from Mexico to facilitate the construction of a southern transcontinental railroad.

Free-Soil Party

Political party formed to oppose the extension of slavery into the territories.

Democrat

Political party that focused on expansionism, private ownership of land, and minimal government involvement.

Whig Party

Political party that emphasized internal improvements such as bridges, harbors, and canals.

Polk Presidency

James Polk's term marked by significant territorial expansion including the Texas and Oregon territories.

Mexican-American War

Conflict initiated by U.S. claims on Mexico leading to territorial acquisitions but raising debates on slavery.

Wilmot Proviso

Proposal to prevent slavery in territories acquired from Mexico, reflecting sectional tensions.

Compromise of 1850

Legislation aimed at easing tensions over slavery by allowing territories to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854 act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, further inflaming conflicts over slavery.

Bleeding Kansas

Violent confrontations between proslavery and antislavery factions in Kansas during the 1850s.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

Supreme Court case that ruled slaves were property and Congress could not regulate slavery in territories.

Emancipation Proclamation

Result of the Civil War and Lincoln's declaration to free slaves in states in rebellion starting January 1, 1863.

Reconstruction

Period following the Civil War focused on re-integrating Southern states and addressing the status of freed slaves.

Sharecropping

Agricultural system where freed blacks and poor whites would farm land in exchange for a share of the crops.

Radical Republicans

Political faction that advocated for immediate emancipation and civil rights for freed slaves during Reconstruction.

Thirteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment that abolished slavery in the United States.

Gadsden Purchase

1853 acquisition of land from Mexico to facilitate the construction of a southern transcontinental railroad.

Free-Soil Party

Political party formed to oppose the extension of slavery into the territories.

Popular Sovereignty

Principle allowing residents of a territory to decide whether to permit slavery within their borders.

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

A component of the Compromise of 1850 that required all citizens to assist in the return of enslaved people and denied fugitives a jury trial.

Abolitionist Movement

Social and political effort during the 19th century to end slavery in the United States.

Fourteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment that granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S., including former enslaved people, and guaranteed 'equal protection of the laws'.

Fifteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment that prohibited the denial of voting rights based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Democrat

Political party that focused on expansionism, private ownership of land, and minimal government involvement.

Whig Party

Political party that emphasized internal improvements such as bridges, harbors, and canals.

Polk Presidency

James Polk's term marked by significant territorial expansion including the Texas and Oregon territories.

Mexican-American War

Conflict initiated by U.S. claims on Mexico leading to territorial acquisitions but raising debates on slavery.

Wilmot Proviso

Proposal to prevent slavery in territories acquired from Mexico, reflecting sectional tensions.

Compromise of 1850

Legislation aimed at easing tensions over slavery by allowing territories to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854 act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, further inflaming conflicts over slavery.

Bleeding Kansas

Violent confrontations between proslavery and antislavery factions in Kansas during the 1850s.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

Supreme Court case that ruled slaves were property and Congress could not regulate slavery in territories.

Emancipation Proclamation

Result of the Civil War and Lincoln's declaration to free slaves in states in rebellion starting January 1, 1863.

Reconstruction

Period following the Civil War focused on re-integrating Southern states and addressing the status of freed slaves.

Sharecropping

Agricultural system where freed blacks and poor whites would farm land in exchange for a share of the crops.

Radical Republicans

Political faction that advocated for immediate emancipation and civil rights for freed slaves during Reconstruction.

Thirteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment that abolished slavery in the United States.

Gadsden Purchase

1853 acquisition of land from Mexico to facilitate the construction of a southern transcontinental railroad.

Free-Soil Party

Political party formed to oppose the extension of slavery into the territories.

Popular Sovereignty

Principle allowing residents of a territory to decide whether to permit slavery within their borders.

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

A component of the Compromise of 1850 that required all citizens to assist in the return of enslaved people and denied fugitives a jury trial.

Abolitionist Movement

Social and political effort during the 19th century to end slavery in the United States.

Fourteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment that granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S., including former enslaved people, and guaranteed 'equal protection of the laws'.

Fifteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment that prohibited the denial of voting rights based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that the United States was destined to expand its dominion across the North American continent.

Abraham Lincoln

16th U.S. President who led the country during the Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

Secession

The formal withdrawal of eleven Southern states from the Union in the lead-up to the Civil War.

John Brown's Raid

An 1859 attempt by abolitionist John Brown to initiate an armed slave revolt by taking over a U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia.

Underground Railroad

A network of secret routes and safe houses used by enslaved African Americans to escape to free states and Canada during the 19th century.

Democrat

Political party that focused on expansionism, private ownership of land, and minimal government involvement.

Whig Party

Political party that emphasized internal improvements such as bridges, harbors, and canals.

Polk Presidency

James Polk's term marked by significant territorial expansion including the Texas and Oregon territories.

Mexican-American War

Conflict initiated by U.S. claims on Mexico leading to territorial acquisitions but raising debates on slavery.

Wilmot Proviso

Proposal to prevent slavery in territories acquired from Mexico, reflecting sectional tensions.

Compromise of 1850

Legislation aimed at easing tensions over slavery by allowing territories to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854 act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, further inflaming conflicts over slavery.

Bleeding Kansas

Violent confrontations between proslavery and antislavery factions in Kansas during the 1850s.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

Supreme Court case that ruled slaves were property and Congress could not regulate slavery in territories.

Emancipation Proclamation

Result of the Civil War and Lincoln's declaration to free slaves in states in rebellion starting January 1, 1863.

Reconstruction

Period following the Civil War focused on re-integrating Southern states and addressing the status of freed slaves.

Sharecropping

Agricultural system where freed blacks and poor whites would farm land in exchange for a share of the crops.

Radical Republicans

Political faction that advocated for immediate emancipation and civil rights for freed slaves during Reconstruction.

Thirteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment that abolished slavery in the United States.

Gadsden Purchase

1853 acquisition of land from Mexico to facilitate the construction of a southern transcontinental railroad.

Free-Soil Party

Political party formed to oppose the extension of slavery into the territories.

Popular Sovereignty

Principle allowing residents of a territory to decide whether to permit slavery within their borders.

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

A component of the Compromise of 1850 that required all citizens to assist in the return of enslaved people and denied fugitives a jury trial.

Abolitionist Movement

Social and political effort during the 19th century to end slavery in the United States.

Fourteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment that granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S., including former enslaved people, and guaranteed 'equal protection of the laws'.

Fifteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment that prohibited the denial of voting rights based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that the United States was destined to expand its dominion across the North American continent.

Abraham Lincoln

16th U.S. President who led the country during the Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

Secession

The formal withdrawal of eleven Southern states from the Union in the lead-up to the Civil War.

John Brown's Raid

An 1859 attempt by abolitionist John Brown to initiate an armed slave revolt by taking over a U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia.

Underground Railroad

A network of secret routes and safe houses used by enslaved African Americans to escape to free states and Canada during the 19th century.

Missouri Compromise

1820 agreement that attempted to maintain the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, and prohibiting slavery in the Louisiana Purchase territory north of the 36°30' parallel.

Confederate States of America

The government formed in 1861 by eleven Southern states that seceded from the United States, leading to the Civil War.

Battle of Gettysburg

A major turning point in the Civil War, fought in July 1863, where the Union Army repelled a Confederate invasion of the North.

Ku Klux Klan

A secret society founded during Reconstruction that used terrorism and violence to suppress the rights of African Americans and oppose Reconstruction policies.

States' Rights

The belief that individual states should have more power than the federal government, a key argument used by Southern states to justify slavery and secession.

Democrat

Political party that focused on expansionism, private ownership of land, and minimal government involvement.

Whig Party

Political party that emphasized internal improvements such as bridges, harbors, and canals.

Polk Presidency

James Polk's term marked by significant territorial expansion including the Texas and Oregon territories.

Mexican-American War

Conflict initiated by U.S. claims on Mexico leading to territorial acquisitions but raising debates on slavery.

Wilmot Proviso

Proposal to prevent slavery in territories acquired from Mexico, reflecting sectional tensions.

Compromise of 1850

Legislation aimed at easing tensions over slavery by allowing territories to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty.